Full Sixth Circuit Refuses to Rehear the Justice Department's Demand for Michigan's Unredacted Voter File

A federal appeals court on Friday, Aug. 14 denied the Justice Department's petition for rehearing before the full Sixth Circuit in its effort to obtain Michigan's complete, unredacted qualified voter file, which lists registered voters' names, dates of birth, partial Social Security numbers and driver's license numbers. The department lost Michigan's initial challenge in February and lost its panel appeal in June before seeking review by every active judge on the court. The order was first reported by Democracy Docket. The administration says it needs the data to confirm states are following federal election law; Michigan argued the demand is an unconstitutional intrusion into elections run by state and local governments that would "intimidate and spread fear among voters."

The denial closes the administration's options in the Sixth Circuit short of the Supreme Court, in one of the largest of more than 30 suits it has filed against states. Federal courts have now rejected the underlying theory in more than 20 cases, declining to read federal election law as compelling wholesale transfer of voter registration databases.

The panel ruling against the Justice Department stands. Two days later, Attorney General Todd Blanche said a Supreme Court petition is "absolutely" a possibility.